Despite slashing prices by at least $200 in the US, Research in Motion is having trouble convincing people to buy its flagship Blackberry tablet.
Retailers cut back on the price of the Playbook several weeks ago, which spurred some renewed interest in the device, but apparently very little of that interest converted into sales.
Channelregister.co.uk said its partners in the channel have essentially been unanimous in claiming that price cuts have done very little to accelerate sales of the device.
The Playbook is yet another prime example of how difficult it is to sell a tablet. Apple made it look easy but no other manufacturer has been able to come into the ring and seriously compete – attempts from such heavyweights as Samsung, Motorola, and Toshiba have failed.
And of course, HP’s dive into the market with the WebOS-powered Touchpad was a disaster.
It seems the Playbook’s fate is sealed, but RIM is not giving up hope. The company vehemently denied rumors that it planned to axe the Playbook, and is instead working on an update that will answer many of the key complaints that users have had about the device up to this point.
Nevertheless, the tablet market is only getting more difficult to break into, not easier, and if RIM wasn’t able to do it throughout this entire year, there aren’t many reasons to believe it will succeed in 2012. But we’re always curious to see and find out.
